Ash Ketchum

Ash Ketchum
Pokémon character
Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu, as seen between seasons seventeen and nineteen of the anime.
First appearance	Pokémon, I Choose You!
First game	Pokémon Puzzle League
Created by	Satoshi Tajiri
Designed by	Ken Sugimori and Atsuko Nishida (video games) Sayuri Ichishi (Seasons 1–8) Toshiya Yamada (Season 10–19) (Season 20–present)
Voiced by (English)	Veronica Taylor (Seasons 1–8) (Season 9–present) Kayzie Rogers (The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon; Kids' WB! TV version only)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Rica Matsumoto

Ash Ketchum, known as Satoshi (^?) in Japan, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise owned by Nintendo. He is the main protagonist of the Pokémon anime and manga series as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise. In Japanese, the character is voiced by Rica Matsumoto. In the English dub, he was voiced by Veronica Taylor from 1998 to 2006. Since the ninth season of the anime series, he is voiced by for the remainder of the anime. In The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon television special, when it aired on Kids' WB! his voice is provided by Kayzie Rogers. However, when the special was released to DVD in a 2 pack with Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, Sarah Natochenny re-dubbed the dialogue for that release.

His name is derived from the Japanese name (as the letters 'ash' are included in 'Satoshi') and his English motto, "Gotta Catch 'Em All". Ash's dream is to become a Pokémon Master. He is loosely based on Red, the player character from the Generation I games Pokémon Red, Green, Blue and Yellow as well as the Generation III games Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen versions. The character's first official appearance in a game was in Pokémon Puzzle League.